Monthly Archives: July 2014

I wanted to start this posting with a description of a nearby bald faced hornet’s nest. So, I walked around in the woodlots bordering my fields, and walked up and down the campus Nature Trail and was very surprised not … Continue reading →

Everyone should go outside and pick up one of the potted plants on your porch or deck. It is almost certain that under some (or all) of these plant pots will be creatures that are nobody’s favorite insect: European earwigs! … Continue reading →

Last year I wrote about the importance of milkweed to the biology of the monarch butterfly. Various species of milkweed are the only plants on which the monarch can lay its eggs. The chemicals that the monarch caterpillar accumulates from … Continue reading →

In the abundant growth of the grasses and weeds that we call our “lawns” there are all sorts of unexpected discoveries working their way through the stems and thatch. The ones without legs are particularly notable. This summer black rat … Continue reading →

I have spent most of today looking out my back window and watching all sorts of bird behaviors. The chickadees have been hunting and gleaning up and down the spruce branches, the male mourning doves have been following the females … Continue reading →